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The tight end of the future in Cincinnati may indeed be named Tyler. But maybe not the Tyler it was supposed to be.

With Tyler Eifert‘s short- and long-term health still an unknown Eric Ebron Jersey , fourth-year tight end Tyler Kroft could be the guy more likely to remain over the long haul. And he’s hoping that’s the case.

鈥淭here鈥檚 definitely momentum off of [2017],鈥?Kroft told the Cincinnati Enquirer. 鈥淚 think I鈥檝e done a good job learning and understanding the offense as much as I can. Just the confidence level is up there and I think there is confidence between me and Andy [Dalton] and the coaching staff because Bill [Lazor] is still here and he saw it. It鈥檚 exciting.”

With Eifert limited to two games in 2017, Kroft caught 42 passes for 404 yards and seven touchdowns. As tight ends go, that should be good enough to give him security. Even if his strategy isn’t to obsess over it.

鈥淚t鈥檚 in the back of my head but I鈥檓 trying not to give it too much thought and try and control what I can control,鈥?Kroft said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 basically how I鈥檝e been trying to think about it. Not get too excited or too down.聽You could just think of everything and overwhelm yourself pretty quickly. I鈥檝e seen guys get in the tank real quick with just trying to figure it out. I鈥檓 trying not to give it too much thought.”

Both Kroft and Eifert are due to be free agents in 2019, with Kroft at $1.87 million this year and Effect operating on a one-year, $5.5 million contract.

Predators coach Peter Laviolette’s biggest challenge adding Finnish scoring whiz Eeli Tolvanen has been finding a spot for the teenager in his lineup.

Yes, the Nashville Predators are that deep.

It’s why the defending Western Conference champions have turned in their best season yet with their sights set on finishing what they couldn’t a year ago. Savvy drafting, surprising trades and a handful of salary-cap friendly contract extensions have the Predators on the verge of what could be a dominant run in the NHL.

Boston, the Los Angeles Kings and the Chicago Blackhawks have run into salary cap issues or injuries that slammed the window shut on chasing the Stanley Cup. Dean Lombardi JC Tretter Jersey , who won two Stanley Cups with the Kings, said he thinks Nashville general manager David Poile has done the best job yet giving the Predators the chance to compete for the next five years.

”He’s still got to win it, but I think he’s certainly positioned for that,” Lombardi said. ”To put a team of this quality together, which is one heck of a team. They can beat you in so many ways. They don’t have a weakness, and to be flexible going forward, I think is a remarkable job.”

The Predators not only are in the playoffs for an 11th time in the franchise’s 20 years, they head into the postseason having clinched their first Central Division title and Western Conference regular-season title with a 4-3 win at Washington on Thursday night. Then a few minutes later, Boston’s 3-2 loss at Florida handed Nashville its first Presidents’ Trophy for good measure.

Veteran center Mike Fisher, who unexpectedly came out of retirement in February to rejoin the Predators Joe Schobert Jersey , sees an even deeper roster than a season ago. Despite not having a single player among the NHL scoring leaders, eight Predators have at least 48 points apiece this season along with four different 20-goal scorers.

”No question it’s stronger than last year for sure, as strong as I’ve been a part of,” Fisher said. ”You look at last year, you lose a couple key guys, and it made it tough. We were still real close. You just never know. Hopefully, we stay healthy. But you just never know. It’s always great to have that.”

Poile didn’t stand pat with a team that lost the final to Pittsburgh in six games.

With Fisher taking until August to announce his retirement , Poile signed center Nick Bonino as a free agent. Poile also signed center Ryan Johansen to the longest and richest contract the Predators have ever given out on their own, signing the then 24-year-old center to an eight-year, $64 million deal in July a couple days after signing Viktor Arvidsson to a seven-year deal.

Those contracts Michael Palardy Jersey , combined with a six-year deal in July 2016 for Filip Forsberg, tied up Nashville’s top line through the 2021-22 season for a tidy sum of $18.25 million per year.

Poile joined Ottawa and Colorado in a three-way trade in November, bringing center Kyle Turris to Nashville . Poile also signed Turris to a six-year, $36 million extension, keeping him under contract through 2023-24 like Johansen and Arvidsson. The Predators gave Fisher a one-year deal.

Poile still had enough money to land forward Ryan Hartman at the trade deadline from Chicago, a seller that will finish last in the Central Division.

One deal that could haunt Nashville depends on defenseman Shea Weber, the former captain traded to Montreal for defenseman P.K. Subban . That deal netted the Predators a younger and cheaper defenseman, but Nashville needs Weber to play until he’s 40 to finish the 14-year, $110 million deal first offered by Philadelphia or face a salary cap hit that would cost more in 2025-26 than the Predators’ current defense corps.

The Predators are focused on this postseason with Laviolette taking advantage of his depth not to rush anyone back from injury.

”Winning always solves a lot of problems, and we’ve been able to do that inside of this game plan Jordan Howard Jersey ,” Laviolette said.

To some critics, adding Tolvanen at the risk of needlessly burning a year on the forward’s entry-level contract seemed almost like too much.

Not to the Predators who remember forward Kevin Fiala breaking his leg in their second-round series with St. Louis last spring or Johansen needing emergency surgery for acute compartment syndrome suffered during the Western Conference finals against Anaheim. Johansen said depth matters most in the playoffs.

”We feel like we’re in a great spot right now going into this postseason,” Johansen said. ”We got a lot of bodies that can not only play certain roles, but versatile players that can step up and be great players in any area of the game. So for us, our team feels really confident in what our capabilities are.”

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